Forever Yours

Chapter Twelve: Unlikely Allies

"What is this, Mama?" Young InuYasha asked, his eyes wide with both excitement and awe at the item his mother had laid delicately in front of her.

He hadn't seen such a thing before. The object was long and skinny, wrapped delicately in a red cloth, framed with gold around the edges. The young half-demon could tell that whatever it was beneath the wrapping had to be something very important.

"It is your birthright. Left to you by your father." The young hanyou watched intensely as his mother unwrapped the long object to reveal an aged sword. "The Tessaiga."

"Wow." InuYasha reached forward to run a clawed hand against the scabbard. "But it's so old, Mama. Was this Papa's?"

"Looks can be deceiving, InuYasha. Never forget that." The young mother said with an air of wisdom far beyond her years. She ran a hand through her son's hair affectionately. "And yes. It did belong to your father. But he left it to you."

"Why?" InuYasha crawled into his mother's lap in an effort to be closer to her, and also so he could examine the weapon more thoroughly under his mother's watchful gaze.

"Because he knew one day you would have need of it." Izayoi lifted Tessaiga into her hands, carefully removing it from the cloth that had once covered it. "This blade was forged from your father's fang and is capable of killing a hundred demons in just one swing."

"Really, Mama?! And he left it to me?" A pair of golden eyes grew wide with amazement "How does it work?" The young inu-hanyou was suddenly more interested in the weapon than he had been had before.

Having never met his father, he had always been very fascinated in hearing any detail his mother had to give him about the man. She always portrayed him as if he was some great hero, and young InuYasha found himself aspiring to be just like his late old man when he grew up.

Izayoi set the sword back onto the protective cloth before she answered, "When your heart is filled with love, the blade will awaken."

InuYasha had been running at full speed, due to not only the desire to get to his destination quickly, but also as a means to burn off steam at his anger over his current situation.

The hanyou was just reaching top speeds when a familiar pull at his youki forced him into an abrupt halt that hid him skidding across the ground, barely avoiding a tumble to the earth.

Kagome.

She near and she was calling him to him. Telling him to wait for her, asking him not to leave her behind.

His heart accelerated exceptionally as he spun, fully intent on meeting her halfway when she suddenly was there, stepping through the trees.

The half-demon inhaled sharply in both shock and a need to take in her comforting scent, as if he couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. Was she really here? Or was this his own imagination, his own desire to see her one more time before he began the quest expected of him by her father?

But he knew with certainty that his senses weren't lying to him, and neither was his heart. She was here. His mate looked a little worse for wear, but that was to be expected after all she had been through.

Kagome recovered first, running into his arms with such force he tumbled to the ground with her on top of him. Her lips were on his before he could blink, savoring each and every taste as if she would never know his flavor ever again. Her hands clung to him, pulling him in close, traveling along every corner of his body as if not believing he was real, that he was here—that he was okay.

InuYasha did much the same. Touching every inch of her body, as if trying to memorize it, and assuring for himself that she, too, was in good health.

"InuYasha… You're okay." Kagome whispered against his lips, resting her forehead against his.

She stared deep into his amber eyes, praying that she would get the chance to one day get to see these same beautiful eyes starting back at her from the eyes of their children.

"Kagome, I'm so sorry… I failed you. I wasn't there to protect you when I should have been." InuYasha reached a hand up to run it across her cheek, a regretful whine making it's way out of his throat, his ears pinned to his head.

Kagome gave him growl of forgiveness, leaning down to once again capture his lips in a chaste kiss before she moved to lie beside him, her head on his chest.

"No, InuYasha…None of this was your fault. It was Kouga. He told me everything. He was the one that distracted you and sent the slayers after me." Kagome clenched her fists in anger, as she recalled all Kouga had done to them. "This is all his fault! He's the one who ruined our happiness!"

InuYasha growled at the mention of the wolf demon, silently adding another reason to pummel his enemy to a bloody pulp.

"But none of that matters! We're together again!" Kagome raised her head to look InuYasha in the eyes, deciding to instead focus on the future and not worry about things she couldn't change.

"Kagome…." InuYasha began somberly, "Your father…"

"I know. My mother told me everything! We don't need his blessing, InuYasha." Kagome said with determination. "All I need is you."

She climbed off of him and pulled him to his feet. "Run away with me, InuYasha."

InuYasha's heart swelled with love for his mate at her admission. She would never know how much her words meant to him. But as tempting as her offer was, he knew he couldn't take her up on it. It almost destroyed the half-demon to say his next words.

"No, Kagome." InuYasha spoke with great difficulty, cupping her cheek with his palm. To deny her anything went against his nature, but this was for the best.

Not to mention the broken the look she was giving him, wasn't making his decision any easier.

The half-demon knew that at some point Kagome would need her family. He knew what it was like to desire pack companionship. As a pack oriented species, it was difficult to be separated from pack members for extended periods of time, and especially difficult to live a life of solitude. InuYasha knew that feeling all too well. The loss of his mother had almost killed him.

He didn't want that for Kagome. Yes, they would always have each other, but he knew at some point she would want or even need to be near her kin. Her happiness was the most important thing to him, far above his own.

And, the hanyou would admit to only himself, his pride was also at stake here. He was determined to prove Lord Higurashi wrong. That he could wield his father's sword. A small part of the half-demon wanted the inu lord to accept him as his daughter's mate. It wasn't a necessity, but for once the hanyou wanted to be accepted for who he was, and not what he wasn't.

It was also the hanyou's strong sense of honor would never allow him to walk away from a challenge. InuYasha wasn't a coward, and would face this obstacle head on.

"I need to do this, I want to do this—for us." The half-demon said, meeting Kagome's sapphire gaze with a strong sense of determination. "Your father will never let this go, and I don't want us to live a life of worry—of constantly looking over our shoulder's. I don't want that kind of life for you. You deserve the best I can offer you. It's my job to keep you safe." InuYasha turned away from Kagome then, to look off into the forest, his gaze glazed over as if remembering something from his past… "We can only run for so long, Kagome, before we have to face what's coming. You must let me do this."

His golden eyes met Kagome's again, and she knew that he was right. She was running away again, just like she had when her father had first told her of the betrothal. And look where that got her?

It was because of the tenacity in her love's amber eyes, that Kagome grudgingly conceded.

"Okay. You're right. It's time for me to stop running too." She whispered weakly, falling into his embrace and burrowing her face into his neck so he couldn't see her tears. "Promise you'll come back to me. I refuse to spend any more days than I have to without you."

"I promise." He granted, forcing her to meet his eyes and sealing his words with a heated kiss.

"Nothing could ever keep me away."

Hoping to remain undiscovered and hidden from the view of the two lovers, a group of three humans and one neko youkai watched the interaction with massive guilt.

"Perhaps," the seemingly holiest of the group began in a hushed tone, "we should stick around for a bit longer and see how this plays out."

The woman with them nodded. "It's the least we can do after the harm we have caused." Her guilt was far greater than her companions, especially for her harsh treatment of the female inu several feet from her.

They watched as InuYasha lead Kagome back towards the direction of the Higurashi estate, glad to have not been seen before they disappeared through the trees.

"I'm just glad they didn't notice us." The youngest of the group said. Still new to their trade, he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with an enraged male youkai, out for revenge on those that had done him injustice.

He shivered, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The young boy looked over his shoulder only to be greeted by blood-red eyes.

"Boo."

Lady Higurashi was a woman on a mission. She had just helped her daughter escape, and since she had no desire to speak to her mate for some time, there was only one thing left for her to do.

She began her walk deep down to a part of the castle that was rarely used. The dungeon.

They didn't often have need to use it because most knew not to cross the Higurashi family. Lord Higurashi was not very forgiving when aggravated, and as such most wisely decided not to go against him.

Fortunately for the wolf demon, Lord Higurashi had yet to be informed of the true extent of Kouga's behavior, and had no knowledge of where the wolf demon was currently holed up.

This was mostly Lady Higurashi's own doing until she figured out how she wanted to handle her rebellious hostage.

She continued traveling down the darkened halls, until she came to the very end where her prisoner was held.

Kouga sat in the farthest corner of his prison, his head in his heads, but was on his feet in seconds upon the inu demon's entrance.

"You do realize you could be killed for treason, for what you have done to my daughter?" Lady Higurashi crossed her arms and eyed her captor with an air of arrogance.

Kouga gulped in response, choosing for the first time in his life to cleverly remain silent as the female demon spoke.

"As of right now, my husband has no clue what has transpired between you and my daughter." Lady Higurashi's silver eyes narrowed and became calculating. "He has no idea you went against my his wishes by going after the hanyou yourself, nor does he know that you attacked my daughter upon her return—"

Her last words seemed to set something off in Kouga. "I didn't attack her! She attacked me! Her hands were on my throat! Her claws dug into my flesh!" Kouga seemed desperate in his need to defend himself.

"It's your word against mine." Kouga went pale at the implications. "Who do you think he'll believe? The wolf demon who didn't listen to him and went on his own to settle his score with the hanyou, or his mate who has never once given him a reason to doubt her?" Lady Higurashi smirked in victory.

"'Dearest,'" She began, pretending to be talking to her mate and donning her most distraught voice that was sure to have Lord Higurashi at her feet, "I simply went to go check on our daughter and I found Kouga attacking her! I tried to pry him off but he shoved me to the ground! Were it not for the guards you had stationed at her door—'"

"Alright, I get it!" Kouga cut her off, defeated. "What do you want from me?"

"I will say nothing of this to my mate if you tell him you no longer wish to honor your betrothal to my daughter."

"WHAT?"! Kouga shouted, aghast. "He'll kill me!"

"And what do you think will happen when I tell him of your 'attack' on Kagome? Or the fact that you 'pushed' me to the floor when I did nothing but try to protect our only daughter from your dangerous claws?"

The woman was utterly wicked, Kouga decided. There was no way he was going to win, but he realized he was more likely to get out of this alive if he went along with her request… Lord Higurashi was far less forgiving if he thought his family had been harmed.

"Alright. Fine! Just get me out of here and I'll do whatever you want."

The devious smirk that adorned Lady Higurashi's face was one Kouga hoped he never was on the receiving end of ever again.

Kohaku was on the ground in seconds, barely dodging the clawed hand that came swinging in his direction. He felt the swish of the air over his head, indicating just how close he had been to harm.

When he looked up again, his sister's massive boomerang was in two pieces on the ground, Kirara was out for the count, and the hanyou had Miroku by this throat, his feet dangling several inches above the ground.

The young boy could see the gears in his sister's head turning as she tried to figure out what to do next. The hanyou stood directly between them and their remaining weapons that could get them out of this situation alive. Each time Sango tried to move InuYasha growled and clutched the monk's throat tighter.

"We can help you… Please…" Miroku managed to wheeze between frenzied breaths.

"How can YOU help me?" The very angry hanyou snarled, his eyes going from gold-red to a deeper shade of blood red.

They had stolen his mate from him, and now they wanted to help him? Yeah, right!

InuYasha did, however, loosen his grip on the monk… slightly.

"W-we heard what L-Lord Higurashi asked of you." Miroku continued with great difficulty.

He was finding it exceptionally difficult to think from the lack of oxygen making it to his brain. It also didn't help to know that at any second the hanyou could choose to end his life.

"So?" InuYasha snarled.

"You want to prove to him you can wield your father's fang, right?" InuYasha nodded once, loosening his grip once more to make it easier for the monk to continue. "Well, it was forged in our village. Toutousai, the demon who crafted it, resided there for many years before he disappeared shortly after the death of your father. He taught our clan all he knew about welding powerful weapons. Tessaiga was among his most prized creations. The legends he told about your father and his fabled sword have been passed down for generations. We can help you learn to master the blade." Miroku coughed and sputtered, frantically trying to take in enough air.

InuYasha stared deep into his prey's eyes, looking for any sign of deceit as he thought about the proposition. He was finding it very difficult to trust these humans given their history.

"Let this be our way to make amends for the grievances we have against you." Miroku added, desperately. "If we fail, I leave our lives in your hands."

"Feh, alright," InuYasha finally allowed, dropping the monk unexpectedly. Miroku stumbled to regain his footing as Sango ran to him to make sure he was okay.

The half-demon took a moment to eye each member of the group of demon slayers before he spoke again. "But, should you try to cross me, each one of you will die by my claws."

Kohaku gulped, hoping Miroku knew what he was doing.

Hi! Me again! Bet you didn't think I would update so soon! Me neither! This is my attempt at proving to you all that I'm back! And determined to finish this story in a timely manner!

Please, review! I would really like to hear from you guys!